JP2000172932A - Commodity carrying-out device for vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a commodity carrying-out device for vending machine which improves the commodity housing efficiency and simplifies a commodity carrying-out mechanism to reduce the cost by arranging commodity housing columns, where many kinds of commodity are housed in a piled state for every classification, in a machine body and inside front door. SOLUTION: Commodity housing columns 10 where various commodities S are piled and housed for every classification are vertically and horizontally arranged in plural stages and columns in a machine body 1. A commodity pickup means 20 which takes in commodities S in each commodity housing column 10 in their opposite positions is provided so that it can be moved in the vertical direction of arrow Y and the horizontal direction of arrow X by first and second moving means 60 and 70. The commodity S taken in this commodity pickup means 20 is moved to a commodity carrying-out part 8 of the machine body 1 and is carried out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine product delivery device used for automatic vending of various kinds of products such as cigarettes, for example. The present invention relates to a merchandise unloading device for a vending machine having an improved mechanism for taking in merchandise into each of the merchandise storage columns stored therein and carrying out the merchandise to a merchandise unloading section.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a vending machine of this type, there are various types of vending machines, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-315240, which was previously filed and published by the present applicant. A drive belt is provided at the lower part of each product storage column in which products are stored in a loaded state for each type, and the lowermost products loaded on the drive belt are pushed out by movement of the projections due to substantially horizontal travel of the drive belt. Some products have a configuration of being dropped and carried out toward a product carrying-out section.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional product vending machine of a vending machine,
Since a drive mechanism is installed independently for each product storage column in the aircraft, especially when storing various types of products,
Since the number of product storage columns increases, the number of drive mechanisms also increases, the wiring inside the machine becomes complicated, not only hinders the reduction in the number of parts, but also increases the cost of the entire apparatus.

Further, in order to improve the space efficiency of the product storage column disposed in the body, it is desirable to provide the product storage column inside the door that opens and closes the front side of the body of the body. This is difficult to achieve with a conventional device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has a product storage column capable of storing various types of products in a loaded state for each type on a main body side and a door side of an airframe. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vending machine product unloading device capable of improving storage efficiency and reducing the cost of the entire device by reducing the number of parts of the product unloading mechanism.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a product storage column in which various types of products are loaded and stored in the machine body by type. In a plurality of stages and rows, in a product unloading device of a vending machine for unloading a product selectively taken out of each of these product storage columns to a product unloading unit, the product in each of the product storage columns is Goods pick-up means for taking out the goods one by one at the facing position and carrying out the taken-in goods at the goods take-out part of the machine body; and selectively moving the goods pickup means from the goods take-out part to the facing positions of the respective product storage columns. And a moving means for moving the product to the product pickup section, wherein the product pick-up section takes in the product take-in storage section and takes the lowermost product in the product storage column into the product take-in storage section. And a commodity uptake means consisting of,
The product take-in means protrudes toward the product take-out opening of the product storage column to be rotatable, and bites and holds the projecting end of the lowermost product protruding from the product storage column to enter the product take-in storage portion. It has a pair of upper and lower biting members to be taken in, and a drive unit for driving the biting members.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the lower end of the rear partition plate facing the product take-out opening of each of the product storage columns is inclined downward and forward. It is characterized by the following.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the first or second aspect, the door is provided so that each of the commodity storage columns can be opened and closed on the body side of the body and on the front side of the body. Characterized by being arranged in line with the inside.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second or third aspect of the present invention, the commodity pickup means is interposed between the main body and the door of the body. It is.

[0010] The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claims 1, 2, and 3.
In the invention described in 3 or 4, the moving means has a suspending means for suspending the product pickup means so as to be movable in a horizontal direction, and a vertical moving mechanism for moving the suspending means in a vertical direction. And a horizontal moving mechanism for horizontally moving the product pickup means suspended by the suspending means.

In other words, according to the vending machine product unloading device of the present invention, each product storage column in which various types of products are loaded and stored by type in the machine is arranged in a plurality of rows and columns vertically and horizontally. In order to move the goods picked up by the goods pick-up means to take in the goods in each of the goods storage columns at the opposing positions, the goods picked up by the goods pick-up means are moved to the merchandise discharge section of the machine to be carried out. In addition, one product pick-up means can drive all the product storage columns to push out the products, thereby reducing the cost of the entire apparatus by reducing the number of components of the product unloading mechanism.

Further, since the product storage columns and the product pushing means are respectively arranged on the main body side of the machine body and the inside of the door body, the product storage efficiency is improved.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows the overall structure of a vending machine equipped with a product unloading device according to the present invention, wherein reference numeral 1 denotes a body, 2 denotes a body of the body 1,
A door 3 is provided on the front side of the main body 2 so as to be openable and closable. On the front surface of the door 3, a bill insertion slot 4A and a coin insertion slot 4B, a change return slot 5 and a merchandise outlet 6, which are cash input sections, are provided. (For example, cigarettes) S are displayed in a plurality of stages, and a push button device 7 as a product selection switch is provided for each stage of each of these sales sample products S.

As shown in FIG. 2, on the bottom of the body 1 of the machine body 1, a shooter 8 as a product carrying-out portion is arranged corresponding to a product take-out port 6 provided at a lower front portion of the door 3.
The shooter 8 discharges a product S which is taken in from a product storage column 10 to be described later via a product pickup means 20 and carried out toward the product outlet 6.

In the front and rear portions of the body 1 of the body 1 and the inside of the door 3, a plurality of product storage columns 10 each of which stores various types of products S in a horizontal position for each type are arranged vertically and horizontally. And a matrix of a predetermined arrangement pattern of rows and columns, and the front and rear product storage columns 10, 10 are
As shown in FIG. 3, the doors are arranged so as to face each other in the closed state, and between them, a merchandise pickup means 20 described later is movably interposed in the vertical direction Y and the left and right horizontal direction X. I have.

A column base 11 is disposed below each of the product storage columns 10, and a lower end of a front column partition plate 12A corresponding to the lowest product S stacked and mounted on the column base 11. In the part, the product take-out opening 13
And the front column partition plate 12
The lower end of the rear column partition plate 12B opposing A is formed on an inclined surface 14 which is inclined forward and downward, and the lowermost product S placed on the inclined surface 14 can be moved forward by its own weight. Thus, the tip portion is made to protrude from the product take-out opening 13.

The commodity pick-up means 20 is supported by first and second moving means 60 and 70 suspended via suspending means 50 to be described later so as to be movable in the vertical direction Y and the horizontal direction X. .

Further, the commodity pick-up means 20 is provided as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG.
A pair of front and rear product take-in means 22 provided on the main body 2 side and the door 3 side of the body 1, respectively. It is composed of a pair of upper and lower biting members 23, 23 which protrude relatively in the biting direction and are provided rotatably. These biting members 23, 23 can be stored in the housing 21.

Each of the biting members 23 includes a fixing drive pulley 24, a movable driven pulley 25, and a product take-in drive bridged between the fixing drive pulley 24 and the movable driven pulley 25. A pair of left and right connection links 27A and 27B that are connected between the shaft of the belt 26 and the fixed drive pulley 24 and the movable driven pulley 25 and rotate the movable driven pulley 25 side in the up-and-down biting direction; And a rotation lever 29 connected to the connection link 27A via a connection shaft 28. Each biting member 2
3 is a gear group 3 meshed with a gear 32 rotated by a drive motor 31 as a first drive unit 30.
3A and 33B are connected to each other, and each of the biting members 23 and 23 is relatively rotatable in a vertical biting direction by forward and reverse rotation driving of the drive motor 31.

On the other hand, the driving pulley 24 for fixing each of the biting members 23 is connected to a driving motor 4 as a second driving section 40.
Gear groups 43A, 4 meshed with the gear 42 rotating at 1
3B, the driving belt 41 is driven to rotate, and the drive motor 41 drives the product take-in drive belt 26 in the product take-in direction by forward and reverse rotation drive.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the suspension means 50 for suspending the commodity pick-up means 20 is provided with a pair of left and right movable brackets 51A and 51B and suspended between these movable brackets 51A and 51B. And a pair of upper and lower X-axis guide shafts 52, 53, and between each of the X-axis guide shafts 52, 53, a housing 21 of the product pickup means 20 is supported so as to be movable in the left-right horizontal direction X. . On the other hand, a pair of left and right movable brackets 51
A and 51B denote a vertical moving mechanism 6 which is a first moving means.
At 0, it is suspended so as to be movable in the vertical direction Y.

The vertical movement mechanism 60 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in detail in FIG. 1, Y-axis guide rails 61 provided on both left and right frames 2A, 2B on the body 2 side of the body 1
A, 61B and these Y-axis guide rails 61A, 61B.
A pair of left and right pulleys 62A, 62B and 63A, 63B provided at the upper end and the lower end, a shaft 63C connecting the pulleys 63A, 63B on the lower end thereof, and upper and lower pulleys 62A, 63A and Y-axis drive belts 64A and 64B stretched between 62B and 63B, and shaft 63C
A pair of left and right springs 65A, 65B for applying tension to the Y-axis drive belts 64A, 64B by urging them downward.
The Y-axis drive motor 66A is connected to a pulley 62A provided on the upper end side of one Y-axis guide rail 61A via a reduction gear box 66B.

On the Y-axis drive belts 64A and 64B, there are provided a plurality of rollers for guiding a pair of left and right movable brackets 51A and 51B constituting the suspension means 50 so as to roll along the Y-axis guide rails 61A and 61B. On the other hand, the balancers 67A and 67B are fixed to the Y-axis drive belts 64A and 64B corresponding to the suspension positions of the movable brackets 51A and 51B, respectively, while being fixed so as to be movable in the vertical direction Y via 54A and 54B. Y-axis guide rails 61A, 6
A plurality of rollers 68A for rollingly guiding along 1B,
68B. This balancer 67A,
67B is provided on the Y-axis drive belts 64A, 64B by the suspension support means 5;
0, each pulley 62A,
The load torque applied to 62B and 63A, 63B is reduced, thereby smoothing the movement of the commodity pickup means 20 in the vertical direction Y.

That is, the vertical movement mechanism section 60 drives one Y-axis drive belt 64A via the pulley 62A by forward and reverse rotation drive of the Y-axis drive motor 66A, and interlocks with this to drive the other Y-axis drive belt. The product pickup means 20 is moved in the vertical direction Y by driving the belt 66B. The movement control of the product pickup means 20 in the vertical direction Y is performed by a Y-axis drive motor 66.
The detection is performed by detecting a pulse signal generated by a position detection pulse generator 69A provided on the rotation axis of A by a position detection pulse sensor 69B.

The horizontal moving mechanism 70 as the second moving means
As shown in detail in FIG. 12 to FIG.
And a pair of left and right pulleys 71A, 71B provided on the movable brackets 51A, 51B constituting
X-axis drive belt 72 stretched between
And an X-axis drive motor 74 that drives one pulley 71 </ b> A around the shaft drive belt 72 via a reduction gear box 73. The X-axis drive belt 72 includes
The housing 2 of the product pickup means 20 supported so as to be horizontally movable between a pair of upper and lower X-axis guide shafts 52 and 53 laid between the movable brackets 51A and 51B.
The housing 21 is connected to the X-axis through a pulley 71A by the forward / reverse rotation of the X-axis drive motor 74.
By driving the shaft drive belt 72, the product pickup means 20 is moved in the left-right horizontal direction X.

In this case, the movement control of the product pickup means 20 in the horizontal direction X is performed by detecting a pulse signal generated by a position detection pulse generator 75 provided on the rotation axis of the X-axis drive motor 74 with a position detection pulse sensor 76. This is done by:

Next, the steps of controlling the taking-in and carrying-out of the product S from each of the product storage columns 10 by the product pick-up means 20 will be described. The bill input port 4A of the money input section provided on the front face of the door 3 of the machine body 1 or When a predetermined amount of money is inserted into the coin slot 4B and a desired sales sample product S is selected by operating the push button device 7, a sales command signal is output. The control unit (not shown) in the body 1 sends a position signal corresponding to the product storage column 10 corresponding to the sales sample product S to the product pickup means 2 based on the sales command signal.
The vertical movement mechanism 60, which is the first movement means, and the second movement means
Is output to the horizontal moving mechanism 70, which is the moving means of. The commodity pick-up means 20 includes the first and second moving means 6
By the drive of 0, 70, the robot moves in the vertical direction Y and the horizontal direction X from the standby position to the corresponding position of the desired product storage column 10.

In this case, the standby position of the commodity pick-up means 20 is usually set on the shooter 8 (commodity carry-out section) from which the commodity S is carried out. May be set at the central part of. Further, the movement of the commodity pickup means 20 from the standby position to the corresponding position of the desired commodity storage column 10 is controlled so as to take the shortest distance by synchronous driving of the first and second moving means 60 and 70. Has become.

The product pick-up means 20 includes the first and second
Is stopped at a corresponding position of the product storage column 10 corresponding to a desired sales sample product S, for example, at a corresponding position of the rear product storage column 10 arranged on the body 2 side of the body 1 by driving the moving means 60, 70 of the vehicle. The product take-in means 22 of the means 20 is driven.

The product take-in means 22 is driven by the drive motor 31 of the first drive unit 30 to rotate in the forward direction.
A pair of upper and lower biting members 23, 23 stored in
Are relatively protruded and rotated in the up-and-down direction, and the protruding end of the product S protruding from the product take-out opening 13 of the product storage column 10 is bitten, and the second drive unit 4
By driving the respective product take-in drive belts 26, 26 driven by the 0 drive motor 41, the lowermost product S placed on the column base 11 is taken into the housing 21 and stored.

When the product S is taken in and stored in the product pickup means 20, the first and second moving means 60 and 70 are driven to move the product pickup means 20 from the take-in position to the shooter 8 (commodity unloading section). It is controlled to start moving at the shortest distance toward the corresponding product discharge position and stop at the product discharge position.

When the commodity pick-up means 20 moves to the commodity carry-out position, an opening / closing door for opening / closing a commodity carry-out port (not shown) provided in the housing 21 is opened, and the commodity S is transferred to the shooter 8.
Take it out and make it available for sale.

In the above-described embodiment, the operation of pushing, taking in, and carrying out the product S with respect to the rear product storage column 10 arranged on the body 2 side of the machine body 1 has been described. The same applies to the front product storage column 10 that has been set.

It is needless to say that the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0035]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, each product storage column in which various types of products are loaded and stored for each type in the body is arranged in a plurality of rows and columns vertically and horizontally. Product pick-up means for taking in the product in each product storage column at the opposed position is provided so as to be movable, and the product taken in by this product pick-up means is moved to the product take-out section of the machine and is carried out. One product pick-up means can drive the product push-out means of all the product storage columns, thereby reducing the cost of the entire apparatus by reducing the number of parts of the product carry-out mechanism.

Moreover, since the product storage columns are arranged on the main body side of the machine body and on the inside of the door body, the product storage efficiency can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing one embodiment of a vending machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view schematically showing an arrangement form of product storage columns in a state where the body is opened.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view schematically showing the arrangement of the product storage columns and the arrangement of the product pickup means when the body is open.

FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory view showing, in an enlarged manner, a product taking-in means in the product pick-up means.

FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view showing, in an enlarged manner, a product taking-in means in the product pick-up means.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged front view of a main part of the moving means.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view of a main part of the moving means.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged plan view showing a main part of the moving means.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged front view of the main part of the first moving means.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged side view of a main part of the first moving means.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged plan view showing a main part of the first moving means;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary front view of the second moving means;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged side view of the main part of the second moving means.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged plan view showing a main part of the second moving means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Body 2 Main body 3 Door 6 Commodity take-out 8 Commodity take-out part (shooter) 10 Commodity storage column 11 Column base 12A Front column partition plate 13 Product take-out opening 12B Rear column partition plate 14 Inclined surface 20 Product pickup means 21 Product take-up Storage section (housing) 22 Commodity taking means 23 Biting member 24 Fixing drive pulley 25 Movable driven pulley 26 Commodity taking drive belt 27A Connecting link 27B Connecting link 28 Connecting shaft 29 Rotating lever 30 First driving section 31 Drive motor Reference Signs List 40 Second drive unit 41 Drive motor 60 First moving means (vertical moving mechanism) 70 Second moving means (horizontal moving mechanism) S Product X Left / right horizontal direction Y Vertical direction Z Front / rear direction

Claims (5)

[Claims] A product storage column in which various types of products are loaded and stored in the body is arranged in a plurality of rows and columns vertically and horizontally, and a product selectively taken out of each of these product storage columns is arranged. In a product unloading device of a vending machine for unloading a product to a product unloading unit, a product pick-up for picking up the products in the respective product storage columns one by one at their opposing positions and discharging the loaded product at a product unloading unit of the body. Means for selectively moving the product pick-up means from the product unloading section to a position facing each of the product storage columns, wherein the product pick-up means includes a product take-in storage section and the product take-up section. A product take-in means for taking in the lowermost product in the product storage column into the storage section; A pair of upper and lower biting members, which are rotatable by projecting toward the opening and rotatable, and bite and hold the protruding end of the lowermost product protruding from the product storage column and take it into the product take-in storage portion; And a driving unit for driving a member. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the lower end of the rear partition plate facing the product take-out opening of each of the product storage columns is inclined downward toward the front. Unloading device. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of said commodity storage columns is arranged on a main body side of said machine body and inside a door body provided on the front side of said main body so as to be openable and closable. Item 3. An apparatus for unloading goods from a vending machine according to item 2. 4. An apparatus for unloading goods from a vending machine according to claim 2, wherein said goods pick-up means is interposed between a main body side and a door body side of said machine body. 5. The moving means includes a suspending means for suspending the product pickup means so as to be movable in a horizontal direction, a vertical moving mechanism for moving the suspending means in a vertical direction, and the suspending means. 5. An apparatus for unloading goods from a vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising a horizontal moving mechanism for horizontally moving said goods pickup means suspended by said means.